Latin Lover
by Celtic
Summary: What will Bumlets do to defend his title as the Latin lover of Manhattan?


Newsies are a property of Disney  
  
Ever since the newsboy strike ended, Bumlets became more confident in himself. He wasn't the shy young man he was before, in fact he was known as quite the ladies man since the end of the strike.  
  
It was late at night when he rushed to the lodging house, if he didn't make it by a certain time he would be locked out for the night. It happened once before and he was teased for a week about being out late with one of his girlfriends.  
  
"One more second and you would have been locked out," said Kloppman as he met Bumlets at the door, "again."  
  
"I couldn't help it dis time---."  
  
"I don't want to hear your excuses, get upstairs and go to bed."  
  
Bumlets hated to be yelled at by Kloppman, and it was happening frequently. He didn't think it was fair that Jack could sneak out of the lodging house at night and nothing be said, but when he tried that every one of the newsboys would let Kloppman know about it.  
  
He walked up the stairs into the bunk room, throwing his hat on his bunk and tossing his wooden staff into a corner. After removing his shoes he climbed up into his bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking the others were asleep until he heard Racetrack say, "I see Bumlets had another late night at Irvin' Hall."  
  
Suddenly the bunk room was filled with laughter. Bumlets rolled his eyes and turned on his side, ignoring them as best he could.  
  
"We got ourselves a regular Latin lover," said Mush, "how many girls ya got dis week? Six? Ten?"  
  
Bumlets sat up and glared at his friends. "You'se guys're jealous 'cause I get da girls an' you don't."  
  
He laid back down and closed his eyes as the newsies continued to make fun of him. He knew he could get any girl he wanted, all he had to do was flash his smile and they came swarming by the hundreds. There was no competition for him, which made him secretly think of himself as the best.  
  
As he drifted to sleep, his last thought happened to be that he never had to worry about losing his luck with women. Nobody could stand in his way of getting any girl he wanted.  
~ Bumlets awoke to an empty bunk room Great, dose guys left without me again. An' Klopper probably decided ta let 'em, ta teach me a lesson or somethin' like dat.  
  
He got out of bed, pulled on his shoes and went into the wash room to clean up before work, suddenly he stopped dead. The room was bare, not one towel, nothing. The paint was peeling off the walls, and the sinks were discolored with rust and mold. Dust covered the counters, as well as everything else.  
  
"Klopper!" he yelled as he quickly grabbed his hat and staff then ran downstairs. It was just as bad, dust took over the registration desk and everything else in sight. The place looked run down as he searched for Kloppman, with no success.  
  
Dis has gotta be a dream, where am I exactly? He looked into a nearby mirror, wiping the dust off it, and breathed a sigh of relief. "I still look good, it ain't like I slept fer years."  
  
Bumlets stepped out of the lodging house and almost fell over from shock. He wasn't in New York anymore. Thousands of people rushed this way and that while the streets were packed with a moving vehicle he had never seen before. He slowly walked down the steps as he drank everything in.  
  
"Excuse me, what were you doin' in there?"  
  
He turned suddenly and saw a middle aged man looking at him. He was dressed in a blue uniform and had a badge of some kind, at his hip was a gun. Bumlets could tell this had to be a policeman.  
  
"I thought I told you kids to stay out of dis place, its an old buildin', one of da few heah in Manhattan. It don't need you meddlin' kids ruinin' it."  
  
The newsboy's eyes went wide. "Dis is Manhattan?"  
  
"Where didja think you was? Just stay out of dat place from now on." said the officer before walking away.  
  
Bumlets quickly sat down. He was still in Manhattan? It was a nightmare, nothing was the same, not even the lodging house. Running a hand through his raven black hair he tried to figure things out.  
  
He went to bed as usual, and woke up the same as every morning. Why was it this morning he ends up in a Manhattan he doesn't remember and can't even begin to live in for the rest of his life.  
  
There was no way he was going to make sense of the whole thing, so he stood and walked through the crowds. He noticed he was getting a lot of funny looks from people, looking down he noticed that he wasn't exactly wearing the same kind of clothing as everyone else. You'se guys're just gonna hafta live with how I'm dressed  
  
He rushed through the crowd, one thing he hoped was still there was Central Park. He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw it was still there At least some things haven't changed  
  
"Hey, can I get a picture with you?"  
  
He turned suddenly and saw a teenage girl. She smiled at him and said, "My friend and I were wondering if we could get a picture with you."  
  
"Um, sure. I guess so."  
  
"Oh good," she said excitedly, "'cause me and her just think you are sooo cute!"  
  
As he posed with each girl, Bumlets smiled wide. It seemed no matter where he was, girls were still attracted to him.  
  
"Would you be willin' to come with us? We were goin' to the club for some dancing and looking for dates."  
  
He accepted the offer and followed the girls, since he had no idea where he was going anymore. During the walk he learned that the girls were named Tiffany and Vanessa, in which he told them his name and made them laugh.  
  
"Here it is," said Tiffany as they stopped in front of a building that had music blasting from inside, "The best dance club in Manhattan."  
  
Vanessa smiled as she pushed Bumlets inside. Not long after arriving, the two girls had him out on the dance floor and he ended up dancing with many girls. He had to watch the other guys that were dancing since it was a different style from what he was used to. When the music started to slow down, he found himself dancing with just Vanessa.  
  
"So, Bumlets," she said, resting her head on his shoulder, "where are you from?" "Um, I've lived in Manhattan fer years." he answered.  
  
"Don't you have any other nick names?"  
  
"I was called Latin lover by my friends just last night." he replied.  
  
She looked up at him and smiled. "I should start calling you that."  
  
Suddenly a voice was heard throughout the room, "And now everyone, here is the hit single by Ricky Martin, Livin' La Vida Loca!"  
  
All the girls screamed as a face was projected on the back wall and the music played. Bumlets looked up at the picture and asked Vanessa, "Who's dat?"  
  
"That's Ricky Martin, the greatest and hottest Latin singer of all time," she answered, "he could shake that bon bon for me all day."  
  
He watched Vanessa, as well as the other girls as the music played. Most of them were so busy looking at the picture of Ricky Martin, that all the other guys in the room were non existent.  
  
I'm so glad da guy's ain't heah ta see dis, they'd laugh at me fer days He thought to himself as he looked up at the picture of Ricky Martin. One thing was for sure, something needed to be done about this singer, he was already getting on Bumlets' nerves.  
  
"You wanna come with us? We're gonna go get somethin' to eat." said Tiffany, snapping Bumlets from his thoughts.  
  
"Sure, is Tibby's still around?"  
  
The two girls looked at each other then at him, puzzled. Vanessa finally asked, "What are you talkin' about? There's no place in Manhattan called Tibby's."  
  
"Um, my mistake." he said, embarrassment written all over his face.  
  
Tiffany laughed and said, "C'mon, we'll go to Burger King, I'll even pay for you."  
  
He felt guilty having them pay for his meal, but they insisted. Soon they stepped into a restaurant that seemed to have no room at all, in Bumlets' opinion Tibby's had more room than dis, an' we all thought dat was small.  
  
Tiffany stepped up to the counter and ordered for her and Bumlets, then found a seat while Vanessa ordered for herself. As they ate, Vanessa and Tiffany asked Bumlets questions about himself, some he tried to avoid but they were insistant to know everything about him.  
  
"Y'know, you look a lot like someone, someone I saw in a movie." said Tiffany, eyeing Bumlets.  
  
Vanessa suddenly snapped her fingers and pointed to him. "Bumlets is the name of that one newsboy in the movie Newsies, the one that Dominic Lucero played," she turned to Tiffany, "and he looks just like him too!"  
  
Tiffany looked at him and smiled. "That's right, especially with the outfit you've got on."  
  
Bumlets looked at them, very confused. "Movie? What's dat?"  
  
"Are you serious?" asked Tiffany.  
  
He nodded. "Yeah, What's a movie?"  
  
Vanessa and Tiffany didn't know how to react to that. How could this guy not know what a movie was? "Hey Tif! Nessa!"  
  
All three turned and saw a young man, a little taller than Bumlets, with jet black hair and deep blue eyes. He sat next to Bumlets and said, "You guys won't believe what I just found out."  
  
"What's that Erik?" asked Tiffany before introducing him to Bumlets.  
  
"Ricky Martin is going to play for 'Good Morning America'."  
  
Both girls gasped before shrieking, causing people in the restaurant to look in their direction. Bumlets was shocked by their behavior and glanced at Erik, to see if he felt the same way at all.  
  
"This is so great," said Vanessa, "we're gonna be able to see Ricky in person!"  
  
"We gotta go shopping! Right now!" said Tiffany as she quickly stood and rushed out of the restaurant with Vanessa.  
  
Erik turned to Bumlets and said, "You'd think there weren't other good lookin' Latin guys that wear tight leather pants."  
  
Bumlets nodded slowly. Erik looked him over and smiled, making the newsboy very uncomfortable, until Erik said, "I'm sure you dislike that Ricky as much as I do. Girls just drool over him as if he were the sexiest man alive."  
  
"I don't even know 'im an' he's gettin' on me nerves already." he answered.  
  
"How would you like to get back at him? Challenge him almost?"  
  
A smile appeared on his face. "Keep talkin', ya got me interested."  
  
"We won't need to change your looks at all, that'll make things easier," said Erik, "but we need to change your clothes...can you sing at all?"  
  
"Um, I sing a little---."  
  
"Great, come with me. We've got work to do." said Erik as he stood up.  
  
Both boys walked out of the restaurant, talking over their plan. In the back of his mind Bumlets kept thinking of how great it would be that he might make it back into the headlines. Now I wish da guys were heah  
~One Week Later~ Tiffany and Vanessa pushed through the crowd so they were in front of the stage, they wanted to make sure Ricky Martin saw them. Both were hoping that by some miracle, they would be asked to dance on stage with him.  
  
"I see you guys didn't waste time gettin' the front row." said Erik as he joined them  
  
"Where's Bumlets?" asked Vanessa, "Isn't he staying with you?"  
  
"Yeah, but he didn't feel like comin' to see Ricky. I don't think he's that impressed with the singer." answered Erik, holding back a laugh.  
  
Suddenly the crowd went wild as the great Latin singer, Ricky Martin took the stage. He bowed to the crowd then began singing. First he sang Livin' La Vida Loca, then he started to sing Spanish Eyes when suddenly an unknown person took the stage.  
  
"Ya think yer so great, singin' an' shakin' dat backside of yers?"  
  
Ricky stared at the person, raising a hand to stop security from taking him away. He then said, "What's your name? And what have you got against me?"  
  
"I'm known as Bumlets, an' I'm thinkin' dat someone needs ta show dese girls dat yer not da only Latin lover heah."  
  
Ricky raised an eyebrow as he listened to Bumlets. He noticed that they young man was dressed much like him, in tight leather pants, the only difference was Bumlets was wearing a black sleeveless shirt which showed off his muscular arms.  
  
"And how do you expect to show them that?" Ricky finally asked.  
  
Bumlets grinned as he pulled off the shirt, causing all the girls in the crowd to go crazy. Vanessa and Tiffany stared in shock at Bumlets, he seemed like the shy type instead of the challenging type. Then they looked at Erik who was on the ground laughing and realized what happened.  
  
"Impressive," said Ricky, "but what does that prove?"  
  
Bumlets then grabbed the microphone from Ricky and looked at the band. "Alright, how 'bout we give dese girls a chance ta see me shake me bon bon?"  
  
The band looked at Ricky who nodded, and they began playing Shake Your Bon Bon as Bumlets sang the song word for word. It was the song Erik had him memorize, saying it was the one that would be the best to use against Ricky. As he sang, he turned his back to the audience and shook his backside, causing the girls to scream his name and Ricky to roll his eyes.  
  
When the song was over, Ricky looked at Bumlets and said, "What does that prove? Anybody can do that."  
  
"Dis is where I'm gonna kick yer Latin ass." said Bumlets with a smile, pointing to Ricky.  
  
The newsboy then started to sing songs by Michael Jackson: Beat It, Dangerous, Bad, and Billie Jean. During the last week he worked hard to learn all of the moves of Michael Jackson, Erik told him that a guy that was able to do the famous singer's moves would have countless girls at his feet. Bumlets even did the famous moonwalk at the very end.  
  
The crowd went wild, Ricky was suddenly forgotten as they all chanted Bumlets' name and asked for more. Bumlets looked over at Ricky and grinned, his body glistening with sweat. He handed the microphone to the singer and said, "I've proven my point."  
  
He grabbed his shirt then jumped off the stage to join Vanessa and Tiffany. They stared at him open mouthed, it didn't much for him to erase their love for Ricky Martin. Erik finally calmed down from his laughter and said to Bumlets, "Who's the Latin lover of Manhattan now?"  
  
People began to crowd Bumlets, wanting to meet the new celebrity. Tiffany and Vanessa stood behind him while Erik stood in front of him, and led him through the crowd safely. The two girls had to stay calm as they touched his sweaty body, both had certain thoughts running through their minds.  
~ That evening Bumlets sat on the couch at Erik's apartment, he had just spent the evening with the girls and needed a chance to just be alone. He had changed back into his newsboy attire, the leather pants just weren't his style.  
  
"That was the greatest thing I've ever seen," said Erik as he sat next to Bumlets, "I told you that Michael Jackson moves get the girls goin'."  
  
"Yeah, though I don't get why he's gotta grab dat part of his body. Does he fergit its der?" Erik laughed. "Never question MJ, he's his own person."  
  
Bumlets nodded then said, "I need ta get ta sleep. Today was very eventful fer me."  
  
Erik nodded in agreement and left Bumlets alone. The newsboy settled in on the couch and closed his eyes, a smile on his face as he remembered his moment with Ricky Martin.  
~ "Get up boy! Carry the banner!"  
  
Bumlets groaned as Kloppman rustled him out of his sleep. Suddenly he bolted up and looked around the room. The newsies were all there, the building didn't look run down. Was all dat a dream?  
  
"An' hows da Latin lover of Manhattan?" asked Specs as he walked by Bumlets' bunk.  
  
Bumlets ignored him as he got out of bed and got ready for the day. He stepped out of the lodging house and was a little disappointed it was the same as he was used to. During the day he kept thinking about his dream and how it seemed so real, from the three friends he made to Ricky Martin himself.  
  
In the evening he joined the other newsies at Irving Hall. As he listened to the music, he found he couldn't get the song Shake Your Bon Bon out of his head and ended up singing it out loud as he stood and started dancing to it. The newsies stared at him, wondering what happened to their now disturbed friend.  
  
As the evening wore on, Bumlets proceeded to sing the songs from his dream. He shocked everyone as he danced the way he remembered from his dream, Medda ended up coming up to him and telling him he had to stop dancing that way or else he would be kicked out of her theater. Bumlets decided he should just leave and walked through the dark streets alone.  
  
"Too bad I can't tell anyone what really happened," he said to himself, "who'd believe me?"  
  
He stuffed his hands in his pockets then stopped walking. He felt something, pulling it out he found it to be a folded picture of him with Vanessa, Tiffany, Erik, and Ricky Martin. The last evening he spent with the girls and Erik, Ricky found them in the streets and asked if he could properly meet the newest Latin star.  
  
He smiled as he stuffed the picture back in his pocket Der's proof dat no matter where I go, I'm da better Latin lover  
  
By the way, I don't own Ricky Martin (though I'd love to, lol) or his song  
titles. Same goes for Michael Jackson's song titles 


End file.
